The DNC will nominate a new Democratic team, and honor a true American patriot…

Rift

As Democrats convene in Chicago on Monday we all will settle in for what should be an exciting week. The A-Team will be there to help send off the retooled Democratic ticket. All eyes will be on Kamala and Tim, for sure, but all in the arena and many others at home will be thinking of Joe. For those looking for a pin to burst the Democratic bubble there exists a sour subtext to the Democrats’ exuberance. The less-than-subtle rumor of a rift is being talked about between the Bidens and the party elders who engineered the president’s decision to abandon his candidacy for a second term. After Biden’s decision, made at the end of a tense period following his poor debate performance, many have questioned the intra-party do-si-do that ended with Kamala Harris replacing Biden and Tim Walz invited to the dance. Biden was confronted with dwindling resources, falling poll numbers, and public calls by friends for his removal from the fall race. Biden, a proud man, truly believed his accomplishments as president and the fact that he had won every primary convincingly had earned him a second term. Quitting was untenable. As he realization that his party was asking him to step down for the good of the party and the nation, Joe found himself in another debate he couldn’t win, this time with himself.

In her semi-weekly opinion piece in the New York Times, Maureen Dowd tells that story. She suggests that not all is as rosy among the party principals and that Joe and his family are still bitter as they bite their tongues not to appear disloyal:

There was no kumbaya. Biden didn’t care about the “three generations of love” Pelosi told Jen Psaki that her family had for him.

The president already resented Obama for shoving him aside for Hillary, and he resented Hillary for squandering that opportunity and losing to Trump. Even though Obama tried to do everything quietly to protect his saintly status, Joe was furious that Obama was sidelining him twice.

- NYTimes, “After Biden Bloodletting, Dems Just Want to Have Fun!,” by Maureen Dowd (Paywall)

Well, now that we have determined that the Bidens are human, it has become clear that in the short haul, and hopefully in November, the chorus of party elders was right. As much as many of us here were disappointed in the turn of events, the last three weeks has been a revelation. It would be harder to believe that had Biden remained we would be entering the week of the DNC with this much momentum, enthusiasm, and hope. Instead, the looming ordeal of waiting for a slip-up, fearing another “senior moment” on the campaign trail, or listening for a botched word salad is now a problem for the Republicans. Trump yelling “coup”, denying the weirdness of his chosen running mate and the preposterousness of his campaign schtick, has suddenly replaced our collywobbles. The Harris-Walz rollout could not have gone better as their relative youth and positivity have repaved the on-ramp to the campaign.

Republicans Caught Off Guard

Trump and his campaign have been caught flatfooted by the move. Walz’s folksy teacher-soldier-coach vibe has renewed the discomfort of Trump’s elusive bone spurs as he tries to blunt JD Vance’s shameful attack on coach Walz’s 24-year military career. It is hard to imagine (and not compare) the ease with which Harris and Walz have been able to deflect the GOP’s weak attacks as they made headway while barnstorming through the battleground states. Had Biden remained, the electoral map would be far more daunting than what new polling is now showing.

Any criticism that Democratic leaders were harsh in their move to urge Biden to quit the race, should be tempered by the results. Think how much we will appreciate not hearing Trump’s worn “crooked Joe” or “sleepy Joe” slights. As the Republicans rejigger their attacks on the Democrats to fit the new team, the early samples seem lame even by their standards. Trump’s special power of attaching a belittling nickname to his opponents is lacking in its ability to shrink Harris. The first feeble attempts, “Lyin’” and “Laffin’” were at least designed to fit on lawn signs for the MAGA rabble. In small print, they conveniently fit above the “Kamala” on posters handed out at rallies. All for naught because the magic has worn off… and the name-calling is no longer relevant.

The weirder and more clownish attempt to bully her by intentionally mispronouncing her name — “Kama-bla”- was either a sign of exasperation, as she endeared herself to voters in general and independents in particular, or of his ignorance of recent pop culture. Blah, blah, blah has been replaced by yada yada ever since Seinfeld’s crew made it standard babble for whatever. And if Trump intended to simply tag Harris as unexciting, or “blah’, history, and spell-check, have proved him shortsighted.

What Trump and the Republicans are beginning to realize is that their inflexibility and attachment to rejected historical artifacts like racism, antisemitism, and misogyny wears on voters. This party’s unrelenting use of hatred has inured most of us to their sting. Their schtick is getting moldy. Democrats, by comparison, have shown themselves capable of recognizing cultural shifts and the ephemeral nature of a political movement. Biden’s time had come, and he has done his best to bend that arc of history toward justice. Good people, smart politicos in the party recognized that his time had passed. What followed was that good people and party loyalists were being clear-eyed. Biden, no longer the party standard-bearer, is free to become a darling of history. He was saved from himself.

What Pelosi, Obama, et. al. did behind the scenes, is what friends do for best friends. Whatever scenario one could imagine, Biden’s campaign was going nowhere and his prospects were put in further doubt during the debate. It was an unfolding story- one in which a final chapter could prove disastrous to Biden’s deserved place as one of the most impactful presidents in American history. He has earned that distinction.

Friends and Family

For those closest to him, it must be difficult to ignore that he has been failing as all of us of a certain age do. It happens progressively faster as the years pile on. Even a victory over Trump in November would have probably cost control of Congress for the next 6 years — think of the 2026 mid-terms and the propensity for the president’s party to lose seats. Think of the SOTU’s and those opportunities for Biden to publicly fail. Good friends don’t allow that to happen and best friends even risk hurt feelings to protect their friends from the mischief of enemies. Again, from Dowd’s opinion piece:

As much as she cared for the president, Pelosi would never choose helping the House of Biden over helping her beloved House of Representatives. Their alienation of affection was clear in interviews she did to promote her new book, “The Art of Power.”

One of the most ruthless and successful tacticians in congressional history seemed sheepish about knifing her pal, and conflicted over whether to take credit. Et tu, Nancy? Biden must have thought.

When David Remnick asked Pelosi if her long relationship with Biden could survive, she replied: “I hope so. I pray so. I cry so.” She added, “I lose sleep on it, yeah.”

In this case, aside from friendships, Democratic leadership had a higher calling as patriots who could not allow democracy to die under their watch.

While Republicans can make this a story about betrayal and Machiavellian treachery, the truth is that as much as the decision to sacrifice their friendship and political loyalties, they acted out of concern and pragmatism. Nancy Pelosi has suggested that Biden’s presidency was far more than a transitional stint that would bridge the past and future. She floated the idea that Biden’s graven bust should join the American giants on Mount Rushmore. I doubt Biden’s ego goes that far. Dowd’s column concludes by touching on the real rift that separates us- a willingness to self-sacrifice. The GOP leadership’s betrayal of the nation is sharply contrasted with what Democrats were willing to risk on its behalf:

Those who pushed out Biden should be proud. They saved him and their party from a likely crushing defeat, letting Trump snake back in and soil democracy.

That would keep Biden off Rushmore.

- NYTimes, “After Biden Bloodletting, Dems Just Want to Have Fun!,” by Maureen Dowd (Paywall)

The Bidens may or may not get over what they perceive as a betrayal, but I would bet that this may be one time Biden may be overestimated. Time and a resounding victory in November will ease the pain. The accolades he will receive for performing the ultimate act of political self-denial will sustain him and will assuage familial hurts. Joe will hear the cheers and history will record them.

After a time, in the peace and comfort of his retirement, Joe will finally make peace with himself. He will once again hear the pride and admiration in the mystic voice of his son Beau who always knew that completing the job is highly overrated- the job of a president, patriot, husband, son, and father is never done.

Sometimes, through no fault of your own, finishing is left to others.

Originally published at https://www.dailykos.com on August 18, 2024.